Eternal Wrath: The Dragon on His Back
by Mark-Owen
Summary: Him, his conscience and the woman with the dragon tattoo or how Oliver Queen found his way back on a path he should have never left... with a little help. Companion piece to Public Enemy (originally intended to be part of Chapter 7) Part 6 of Eternal Wrath, Oneshot.
1. Game On

Oliver stirred and groaned. He shifted in his chair and frowned, the stiffness of his neck and his numb cheek brought his tired mind out of the shelter of sleep. His ears picked up sounds of conversations covered by the passing of vehicles while he sift through his confusion and remember where he was.

Something tugged at his sleeve.

He growled and opened up one blurry eye. Blinking to clear up his vision, he found his mood dissipating at the sight of a child standing by his arm. Her large curious eyes stared straight at him when, with all the trust and boldness of an innocent being she asked him a question.

"Why are you lost, mister?"

His brow furrowed and he wanted to ask her what she meant when a voice called out for her. "Emmy! Emmy come here, sweetie."

The little thing offered him a shy smile and disappeared into the crowd.

He watched her leave, trying to make sense of the encounter until his mind noticed the rest of the scene. The cars, the tables and chairs and the people paying no attention to him. He was in a bar, on the terrace. _How did I get here?_

Memories were nothing but darkness, he gave up trying to remember the events that led him here and seized the half-drunk pint of beer on his table, gulping the beverage down in one go, hoping it would shake him out of his confusion.

GAME ON

Oliver almost choked himself half-gulp when the word handwritten in red stain on the bottom of the glass became visible. Ill-at-ease, he stood up abruptly, paid his beverage and took off down the street in hope to regain control over the beating of his heart.

The crowd in the street began thinning as people reached their workplaces. He took in a deep breath, wondering how he got in some street he didn't remember drinking early in the morning. He felt a headache coming when he noticed a woman looking his way, an enigmatic grin on her face.

He blinked, an image of the same face looking down at him as he lost consciousness came back to him. _Sleep._ she had said. _You will need all your strength when you wake up._ Grunting, he shook his head. Adrenaline kicked in when he realized she was walking away from him. He followed her at a quick pace.

She seemed to sense his movement and sped up her stride before turning to an interstice between two buildings. Oliver ran, reaching the alley too late. Taken aback by her disappearing act, he engaged forward all the while investigating the walls. He had half a mind to find a hidden hatch close-by. She couldn't have crossed the passageway so fast, he was only a few seconds behind her.

He walked a slow pace in silence, one foot after the other, being careful to avoid hitting anything susceptible to make any noise. She wasn't far, he knew it. There was something about this situation that sent a shiver down his spine. Somehow, it was all familiar and foreign at the same time.

It was then, that he felt the thrill. His fist formed a tight ball as he tried to repress his feeling but he couldn't fight his instincts. He was hunting and a part of him had missed the sensations of tracking down a prey. There was no morbid lust in his veins, he had felt the same thrill before, during each of his patrols as the Green Arrow.

Oliver Queen might have dressed up in leather in the past to protect innocents and capture criminals but at his core he knew that above all he was a hunter, not a hero. Vordigan made him that way, forged his instincts, his reflexes. Teachings so deeply ingrained in him he couldn't fight them, despite his best efforts.

The alley was littered with trash, slowing his progress. He reached the other end after what he perceived to be an eternity and yet, he caught a glimpse of the woman's long dark hair disappearing into a red bricked house. He sucked in a breath.

In front of him, stood a basin of warehouses surrounded by water and a large empty gap separated him from it. He recognized the place, he had been here before. The storage area by the docks. A place he would never forget.

He went on, his shoulders vouched under the weight of his own guilt as he tried to avoid reminiscing the memories of the fatal night. The door opened without much of a push. Outside, the light had dimmed when he looked out the windows and he barely realized he had climbed the stairs on his own.

She was waiting for him. The strange woman, carrying the mysterious vibe around her like an aura, stood on the opposite side of the room assessing him in silence. Oliver found his voice wouldn't be heard, caught under the lump in his throat. She spared him the effort.

"Disorientated? Still can't remember what got you there?" she prompted, a faint smirk taking shape on her face. "I get it you slept well. Tell me now... have you dreamed?"

He stared, frozen.

"I'm sure you have dreams, I'm sure you have nightmares. Have they ever woken you up at night? Experienced one so terrible you refused to go back to sleep out of fear?" Her eyes thinned. "You have, I know you have. Tell me now, Oliver, what is your worst nightmare?"

He couldn't back away when she started approaching and circling around him, her heels clicking on the floor in a rhythm that had his stomach in knots. "This fear... have you ever felt it? Something so powerful you would give up anything or anyone to make it stop? Have you now, Oliver?"

She was in his back, he writhed when he heard her whisper in his ear. "You're about to feel it now."

He jumped at the loud crash in the roof, a body fell a few feet ahead of him, one he recognized instantly and froze him on spot. The man grunted, his arm rising to get to the arrow protruding from his chest, he couldn't and gave up.

Oliver blinked when he felt a weapon being shoved into his hands. "You remember this moment." the woman whispered to him. "What he did, what it entails... you can change how it all went down, just make the right choice." she pushed him forward, forcing him closer.

He kept a tight grip on the crossbow, hoping to stop the shaking as he aimed it at the man on the ground. His finger kept pressing and releasing the trigger before it could shoot the arrow. One year earlier, Oliver had had no intention of murdering him. He remembered walking up the stairs, the thrill of his hunt and his triumph at beating the odds to prove he still had it in him, overwhelming his senses. He had come up to the wounded boy, the one whose hatred and thirst of revenge had driven him to commit the worst atrocities in the name of the Green Arrow. Raphael had asked him to finish him off, end this ten year long feud between them then and there. To come out a victor like they had been taught in a time which felt like it belonged in another era.

"What are you waiting for?" she urged. "He's stalling you!"

Oliver shook his head, regaining his senses. "I know."

He felt her starting to circle them again. "You know what to do, you're wasting time. Do it!"

"No." He gritted his teeth together, despite his words he felt his finger itching to press the trigger.

The woman stopped walking and bent towards him behind his back. "You are wasting precious time, Oliver." she whispered. "You know what will happen if you lose another second mulling over his fate. Make your decision, make it now... and remember the gamble you're going to take if you let him live."

"Stop it."

"Oh you know." she said. "He traveled thousands of miles, just to have his revenge. Made you out to be a murderer... even planted the seed of doubts in the minds of your closest friends, of your own partner."

Oliver's breathing became erratic, he closed his eyes, trying to regain control. She decided to take this moment to press him on. "Shoot him! Shoot him now!"

"No!" he jumped, turning around while his crossbow clattered on the floor. "I won't shoot him!"

She raised her head, as if being surprised. "Why?"

"I'm not going to kill anybody." his eyes warmed with each of his words. "Not again, not anymore..."

He couldn't speak another word, the weight of his memories was too great. She shook her head, watching him fight against his guilt. "I'm disappointed, Oliver."

He cried out, falling to his knees. A shot had been fired, the detonation almost bursting his eardrums. This time the environment had changed. Harsh lights had him squinting and his ears picked up movements ahead of him, the room was larger.

"You should have stayed away."

The voice echoed in his head like an omen. He looked up slowly, afraid of what he might see. He was in the underground bunker where he had Lex last met. The man himself was here, his gun still pointed at the figure lying in his own blood.

 _Bart..._

Seized by his anger and despair, he rose to his feet, aiming his crossbow at Lex who grinned at him. "I see I've pushed you hard enough. Have you finally decided to do what you've always been wanting to do?" he moved his hands up, as if surrendering. "Do it. End this all now. After all you never what I might do in the future... who knows how many people will be hurt because of me? Come on. Shoot."

Oliver grit his teeth, harsh breath coming through his nose. He remained immobile as Lex taunted him. "What's the matter? Not brave enough to do what needs to be done? Despite what you've been telling yourself you're not that different from Clark in the end. Still lacking the guts to kill a man when it's necessary." He looked over to his guards. "Let's spice things up. Bring her!"

He felt his heart stop for a moment when she was brought in, trying to fight against her captor's grip as they pulled her besides Bart's dead form. She looked over at him, her eyes wide in fright while she struggled against her tied hands in her back.

"Lex..." He warned when the man aimed at her. He sent him a glance. "Don't shoot."

He smirked. "Three... two... Ow!"

The arrow went clean through his wrist, Lex's handgun discarded, he glared at Oliver as his guards started to shoot at him. The archer dodged back towards the entrance and winced as the bullets bounced off the walls around him.

"Ollie!" he heard her scream over the gunfire and dared poking an eye out just in time to catch a glimpse of her blonde hair disappearing at the other end of the room as Lex dragged her along.

"No, no, no, no!" he muttered, dashing back to the stairs and taking the same route he used to come in. The night had fallen outside and rain poured on him when he reached the exit. Oliver saw a dark SUV igniting its engine just as a fist crashed against his jaw.

He reeled back against the concrete, acting on instinct as he kicked his attacker's legs forcing him down at his level. He had to bash the man's head twice against the ground to knock him out, wasting precious time as the SUV began to drive away at a quick pace.

Oliver got his hands on the guard's rifle and shot twice at the vehicle, hitting the two rear tyres the same instant. The SUV started sliding around and they were almost out of the industrial zone when they stopped and two figures boarded out. One of them forced the second along, pointing some kind of weapon at the smaller one. They strolled out of his sight towards the city. He ran after them, using the cross of the rifle to crash against the driver's face.

Another pair of feet started echoing at his side, he was almost surprised to see the mysterious woman running by his side. "You're faster than them." she said. "They're not far, come on. I know where they are."

She guided him to their pursuit through the dark alleys and narrow streets of the neighborhood. Only the main streets remained lightened, proof of the advanced hour of the night. Oliver's nightly patrols in Metropolis had made him familiar with the city's darkest corners but nothing could have helped him then.

The moon was nowhere to be seen and rain poured all over, covering every other sound he could have used to localize them. Roulette seemed to know exactly where to go and even if he didn't trust her and the fact that the situation made no sense, he followed. Questions would have to wait for another time, there was a life at stake.

Roulette turned a sharp left into a lightened street. When Oliver reached the place, he stopped. She had disappeared. Two figure up ahead caught his eye. The lamppost gave no room for error, Oliver easily spotted Lex dragging Chloe at gunpoint.

He called for them. Lex turned around, using her as a shield, his weapon pressed against her temple.

"One more step, Oliver," he warned. "and you can prepare her funeral too."

Oliver kept his crossbow aimed at him but didn't move. "Let her go or I will kill you."

"Oh are you, now?" he taunted the archer. "You had more than enough chances tonight, don't you think?"

"This time is different."

"It always is, Oliver." Lex changed his aim towards him. "You simply won't do it because you think it makes you better than me. We all know the truth-"

Lex crashed aside, an arrow sticking out of his forehead, his gun laying on the ground. Oliver ran forward, casting his crossbow aside to engulf Chloe in a hug.

"Ollie!"

"You're okay?" he whispered against her hair, feeling himself tremble as his mind processed the enormity of what he had lived. "God, I was so scared..."

Her smile slipped when he was pulled out of her grasp. Oliver hit the wall with a gasp, watching in horror as Lex threw a punch at him. The man carried no sign of the wound he had sustained as he sent a strong blow at him, forcing him down.

Oliver groaned and tried to stand back up but Lex stopped him, settling himself above his figure to keep on hitting his face. He tried to protect himself as well as possible, still reeling from the sudden change of the situation.

It wasn't until Lex decided to grasp his collar and talk that Oliver found enough strength to roll them over. Now the tables had turned in his favor. He headbutted his foe and circled his throat with his hands. Lex laughed.

"Now's the time to finish the job, Oliver." he said. "You had enough guts to kill me once, aren't you able to do it twice?" The archer remained unmoving. "Think about all my victims, the ones I killed and all the other lives I destroyed one way or another. Aren't you going to do right by them?"

"You will get justice-"

"Justice!" Lex spat the word. "Justice will give me a comfy cell for the next five years and then..." Oliver had been distracted enough to let him get a grip on the crossbow laying close-by. He was surprised when Lex put it in his hands and forced him to point the tip at his forehead. "then I'll be out with a slap on the wrist and the possibility to do it all over again."

Oliver was at loss of words.

"You can stop it now, once for all. Pull this trigger and deliver the real justice, the only one able to keep me away forever." Lex tightened his hands over Oliver's. "Come on! What would Bart think of you if you let me away?"

Oliver grit his teeth, his finger twitching. Lex grinned in answer. "Think, think about what I'd do to your friends and your precious Chloe if I was given the occasion. They'd all die slow painful deaths, cursing you for not killing me any sooner."

"Shut up."

"You know I'm right." Lex taunted. "We aren't so different—"

Oliver tossed the crossbow aside and punched him. Lex fell back, out. "We're nothing alike." the archer muttered as he roll him over and tied his hands together, doing the same with his feet. He wasn't going to give him another chance to fight.

Heels clicked on the sidewalk behind him, approaching Lex's figure. Roulette retrieved the crossbow and Lex's gun in the ground, putting them in her bag. "Game over." she glanced at Oliver. "Have you found the answer?"

He watched her in confusion. She continued. "The question was: Why are you lost?"

He didn't know what he was about to say but he went mute when another voice intervened. "You didn't know who you were." Chloe appeared on his right, her hair wet from the rain. "You killed in the past to prevent lives from being hurt and you knew it was wrong. When Bart was murdered you felt it was on you because you had a shot at Lex and you didn't take it."

Oliver gulped, his eyes itching. She gave him a soft smile.

"Now you know. Sometimes... sometimes we have to make the wrong choice. To cross the line and do the unthinkable in order to save people but, Ollie... You're not a cold blooded killer. Are you?"

He sucked in a breath, feeling a few tears slipping out of his control. "No..." he rasped. "Not anymore." he slipped to his knees, sobbing as he muttered his last words again. "Not anymore..."

Chloe wrapped her arms around him, joining him in his grief. "You saved me." he whispered against her ear.

"You saved yourself." she replied in the same tone. "I just gave you the initial push."

Oliver chuckled and kissed her forehead, oblivious to Roulette and Lex's body on the ground shape-shifting into the Manhunter. The two of them made themselves scarce, leaving the blonds alone with the feeling of a job well-done and the hope that somehow, the future would be brighter.


	2. Game Over

"I'd ask you to stop looking at me like that but I'd be lying... I missed this."

"You're my hero now. You know that, right? I don't deserve you."

"Ollie... you came back time to save me. Helping you like this, it was the least I could do."

"Okay, okay... I do have a question, though. Several, actually."

"Ask away."

"During the whole game, there were things that kept happening which I can't explain. Like, that woman – Roulette?"

"Roulette, yeah"

"Weird name by the way – hey, don't laugh!"

"Sorry, sorry! Keep going."

"Right, so Roulette... She kept popping in out of nowhere. I know I wasn't totally alert then but I get the feeling it wasn't completely natural. She powered or what?"

"No, most of the game wasn't even real, in fact."

"Huh? So I've finally lost my mind."

"Stop being silly! What I meant was from the moment you wake up in that bar until you ran out of the facility after Lex was dragging me away, we played it all in your head."

"Like huh... mind control? Dreams?"

"Like telepathy."

"Something you've been hiding from me, Sidekick?"

"Yes, I'm not human, I'm actually a Martian."

"Kidding! You should have seen your face!"

"Oh you little-"

"Hey, stop, stop! No tickling or I won't tell you anything!"

"Alright but let's get to the point, now. I'm dying to know."

"Okay. Well in fact I really did have Martian help – no joke. Some little green man we know – the one who likes parading in our world as a cop, he's back."

"John? John's back?"

"Yup. His stay on Mars didn't last that long but considering the distance between his planet and ours, his trip lasted for some time."

"Did he find what he wanted?"

"Yeah, it's another phantom zone portal. Might be useful in case we have another Doomsday scenario."

"Ah don't remind me... so, about Roulette?"

"John played a key role in the whole thing. He connected our consciences together, you, me, Roulette and him so we could do the whole thing without attracting too much intention in the real world. Then, when you got hit by a guard outside the ridge facility – you remember?"

"Yeah, hurt like hell."

"Well that's the moment we switched to the real party. I played my damsel in distress act and John shape-shifted as Lex."

"So... that explains why my arrow didn't actually kill him."

"Exactly, he played his part perfectly."

"Heh, I don't know... Did he really have to hit me like a Mack truck?"

"Gentle slaps weren't going to do it, Oliver. He had to make it real, we wanted to appeal to the fighter in you so you could do what was necessary."

"You're amazing."

"Don't sell yourself short, in the end you fought for yourself and for a second chance."

"I couldn't have done it without you, Chloe."

"Ollie..."

"You saved me."

"You saved yourself, like I said, I just gave you a little push."

"More like a kick in the ass."

"Well you needed it."

"Can't argue with you, there! Wait... what about Roulette? Why involving a stranger in all this?"

"She had the experience in this kind of situation. She had to know when to taunt you, when to push, and when to assist you. We all acted by her call. And if you worry about her revealing our secrets, don't be. I played my cards close to the chest, besides, it's well known she's a mercenary and once paid off, she remains tight-lipped about what she's seen."

"Hmm."

"I put, Victor on her tail, though."

"Vic's back too?"

"Yeah, replied to my calls just in time for the game. He was in contact with Lois during the whole thing, she told him where to guide us towards the desert parts of the city. He was like a scout."

"Like a scout, huh? And Lois was the mother hen."

"Don't ever tell her that, if you want to live! Let me catch my breath, there."

"I don't know, I like it when you're breathless."

"I thought we were resting."

"We were, but then you started tempting me."

"How was I even tempting you, I was talking. Eyes up, mister!"

"Shut up and kiss me." 


End file.
